IABNEY  CARR  HARRISON,     V 


Min: 


Jospel 


3  ARlVTir 


.LIAM  J.   HOGE    D     D 


AS   rOMMrTTKK  OF 


^m 


v^ 


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George  Washington  Flowers 
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ESTABLISHED  BY  THE 
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COLONEL  FLOWERS 


SKETCH    OF 

BABNEY  CARR  HARRISON, 
Minister  of  the  Gospel 

AND 

CAPTAIN  I3NT   THE  J^FLlvL'Y 

r     -     OF  THE 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 
BY  WILLIAM  J.  HOGE,  D.  D. 

AUTHOR   OP   BLIXD    BARTIMECB. 


RICHMOND: 


PRESBYTERIAN   rOMMITTEE  OF   PUBLICATION 
OF  THE  CONFEDERATE  STATES. 

1862. 


50 


r\0 


iWH 


DABNEY  CABU  HARE 

SOLDIER  OF   THE  CROSS   AND  OF   HIS  CO  UN 

BY  WILLIAM  J.  IIOGE,  D.  D. 


This  faithful   minister  of  Christ,  this  no- 
ble gentleman  and  valiant  officer,  fell  at  Fort  , 
Don  el  son,  while   cheering  on  his   men,    and 
striking  for  the  honor  and  independence  of 
our  young  Confederacy. 

At  the  request  of  judicious  friends,  I  have 
prepared  this  brief  narrative  for  circulation 
in  the  army.     f*My  e  and  pr:.; 

to  God"  for  all  my  readers  is,  that  they  may 
have  "like  precious  faith"'  with  him.  T  can 
not  wish  them  a  more  beautiful  and  blessed 
life,  nor  a  death  more  peaceful  and  full  of 
glory. 

He  was  born  in  the  county  of  Albemarle^ 
Virginia,  on  the  12th  of  September,  1830. 
His  father,  the  Rev.  Peyton  Harrison,  still 
lives;  but  his  mother,  Jane  Cary  Carr,  daugh- 
ter of  Judge  Dabney  Carr,  was  mercifully 
"  taken  away  from  the  evil  to  come." — 
Her  soul,  so  rich  in  genius  and  culture,  so 
quick  and  large  in  its  sympathies,  and  so  ca- 
pacious of  suffering,  rested  from  its  labors 


4  DAB17EY  CARR  HARRISON. 

and  slept  in  Jesus,  before  the  tempest  burst 
upon  her  country,  her  State,  and  her  own 
happy  household. 

Capfe.  Harrison  was  descended,  on  either 
side,  from  sturdy  patriots.  He  was  the  kins- 
man of  two  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  One  of  them  was  its  il- 
lustrious author;  the  other  was  the  father  of 
President  Harrison.  I  shall  be  pardoned 
for  devoting  a  few  lines  to  the  memory  of 
his  great-grandfather,  Dabney  Carr,  espe- 
cially as  this  association  of  names  serves  to 
draw  our  first  great  Revolution  and  our  sec- 
ond into  closer  relation.  He  hud  the  honor 
of  bringing  forward  in  thje  House  of  Bur- 
gesses, A.  D.  1773,  a  measure  for  the  crea- 
tion of  what  Mr.  Wirt  calls  "  that  powerful 
engine  of  resistance, — corresponding  com- 
mittees between  the  legislatures  of  the  dif- 
ferent colonies."  Though  but  twenty-nine 
years  of  age,  he  "was  considered,"  says  the 
same  high  authority,  "by  far  the  most  form- 
idable rival  in  forensic  eloquence  that  Pat- 
rick Henry  had  ever  yet  had  to  encounter." 
He  describes  "his 'devotion  to  the  cause  of 
liberty"  as  "verging  on  enthusiasm,"  while 
"his  spirit"  was  "firm  and  undaunted,  be- 
yond the  possibility  of  being  shaken." 

His  career,  too,  was  brief  as  it  was  bril- 
liant.    He  died  in  Charlottesville,  Sunday, 


DABNEY  CARR  IIARRISOX.  5 

May  16th,  only  &vo  months  after  this  aus- 
picious entranpe  into  his  country's  public 
service* 

I  now  return  to   the  immediate  subject  of 
this  sketch. 

From  early  childhood  he  was  remarkable 
for  thOughtfulnfiss,  ii.it-  i-denial.  ; 

severance  in  difficult  undertakings,  and  un- 
failing obedience  to  his  parents.  He  cher- 
ished to  his  dying  day  a  little  silver  coin, 
with  these  words,  "To  an  obedient  son,"  in- 
scribed on  it  with  a  pen-knife  by  his  father. 
It  was  given  on  an  occasion  when  he  had, 
without  hesitation,  obeyed  a  request  involv- 
ing no  little  sac.  '..h  pride  and 
prejudice.  His  studiousn*  arlygave 
promise  of  the  rich  acquisitions  of  his  after 
life.  When  but  nine  years  old  he  read,  in 
his  play  hours,  the  whole  of  Hume's  History 
of  England.  Durina  his  childhood  his  par- 
ents adopted  the  plan  of  paying  their  child- 
ren for  abstaining;  from  some  of  the  delica- 
cies of  the  table,  for  the  sake  of  the  hea- 
then. The  goodly  sum  which  little  Dabney 
brought  forth,  year  by  year,  aP  the  agent  for 
Foreign  Missions  made  his  round,  and  the 
honest  pleasure  with  which  he  gave  it,  bore 
witness  how  heartily  and  patiently  he  could 
deny  himself  for  others'  need.     His  favorite 

*  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry,  pp.  89,  90. 


6  DABNEY  (JARR  HARRISON. 

books,  his  compositions,  and  his  conscien- 
tious walk  and  conversation,  show  that  the 
whole  tendency  of  his  mind  was,  even  at 
this  period,  deeply  religious. 

When  just  fifteen,  he  entered  the  Sopho- 
more class  in  Princeton  College,  though  his 
preparation  was  in  advance  of  what  was  re- 
quired. After  an  unusually  bl.-uneless  and 
honorable  course  at  this  institution,  he  be- 
gan the  study  of  the  Law  with  a  relative  in 
Martinsburg,  and  pursued  it  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Virginia  for  two  years.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Martinsburg,  and  entered  en  the 
practice  of  this  profession. 

He  was  well  fitted  for  it  both  by  nature 
and  education.  His  memory  was  quick,  te- 
nacious and  prompt;  so  that  his  acquisitions 
were  rapidly  made,  firmly  held,  and  always 
at  command.  His  understanding  was  com- 
prehensive and  solid  ;  while  his  imagination, 
without  being  vivid,  was  graceful  and  chaste. 
His  perception  was  keen,  his  judgment  cool, 
his  language  clear.  He  had  singular  facili* 
ty  in  explanation.  No  one  could  impart  in- 
formation more  pleasantly.  '  He  charmed 
you  on  toward'  knowing  what  he  knew,  v 
out  once  making  you  blush  because  you.  did 
not  know  it  before.  His  historical  and  po- 
litical knowledge 'was  copious  and  accurate, 
leaving  an  intrepid  intellect,  he  was  fond  of 


DABXET  GARR  HARRISON.  7 

discussion.     Incapable    of    artifice   himself, 
he  was  yet  not  efasi  ■  ;  ped  by  anoppo- 

nent.     At  this  period  of  his  life,  bis  speech 
.  E  fear,  too   often   sarcastic;  but   after 
grace  began  its  reign,  his  wit  grew  constant- 
ly softer,  and  survived,  at  length,  in  the  form 
tod-humored  pleasantry  only,  played  off 
i  friends  who  could    understand  and  en* 
joy  it. 

is    emotions   were    ardent,    hut    under 
'Strong  control.     lie   had   ready  sympathies 
for  the  we:ik,  generous  indignation   for 
injured,  while  for  parity  and  honor,  for  lib- 
erty and   right,  he   was  full  of  noble  enthu- 

He   had,  moreover,   the   advantages   of  a 

pleasing  address,  classic  features,  a  serene 

and   contemplative  countenance,  the   frank* 

-    of  a   fearless   and  cordial   nature,  and 

the  manners  of  a  thorough  gentleman. 

With  such  (jualih-  d  with  a  glow- 

ing ambition,  he  entered  on  his  professional 
■jr. 
But  "man's  goin  of  the  Lord:  how 

an,  then,  understand  his  own  way?" 
He  can  not.  He  may,  indeed,  "  devise  his 
way:  but  the  Lord  th  his  st< 

it  was  here.  Other  and  higher  work 
had  been  marked  out  in  heaven  for  this 
young  Jawver.  though  as  vet  he  know  it  not, 


8  DABNEY  CARR  HAKKiSON. 

He  was  to  be  "an  ambassador  for  Christ,'7 
having  in  trust  "  the  glorious  gospel  of  the 
blessed  God." 

A;i  event  which  came  to  pass  in  his  early 
childhood  was,  no  doubt,  an  important  link 
in  the  providential  chain  by  which  he  was 
now  drawn.  While  yet  a  little  boy,  he  had 
seen  his  father  give  up  the  legal  practice  he 
had  been  acquiring  for  years,  and  remove, 
with  all  his  family,  to  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary, that  he  might  learn  to  preach  Christ, 
and  be  henceforth  a  servant  of  the  saints 
for  Jesus'  sake.  How  constantly  was  that 
household  ever  after  taught  that,  for  a  man 
redeemed  from  sin,  and  called  of  God,  the 
ministry  of ,  the'  gospel  is  the  noblest  of  all 
employments,  the  sweetest  of  all  privileges, 
and  the  richest  of  all  means  of  usefulness  ! 
With  what  importunity  did  his  parents  pray 
that  God  would  choose,  some,  at  least,  of 
their  sons,  and  "count  them  faithful,  putting 
them  into  the  ministry !" 

At  length,  in  the  case  of  this  son,  God's 
time  drew  near.  The  Holy  Spirit  began  to 
trouble  his  heart  anew,  as  He  had  done  sev- 
eral years  before.  The  death,  about  this 
time,  in  her  youthful  bloom,  of  a  favorite 
cousin,  who  had  been  the  intimate  compa- 
nion of  his  social  and  literary  pleasures, 
greatly   increased    the    gracious  movement 


DABNEY  OARR,  HARRISON.  9 

which  God  had  revived  in  Jiis  soul.  The 
vanity  and  uncertainty  of  life,  the  solic^lo- 
ries  or*  t  -  which    though  ung 

eternal,  the  claims  of  Grod;  and  the  needs  of 
his   i  I    and  of  low- men, 

•   continually  before   him.     In  his  long, 
lonely   walks  and  rifles,  he  "pondered  [] 
things  in  his   heart;/'  and   at   length,  hy  the 
of  Grod,  he 

I  and 
His    blessed    service.      He    abandoned    the 
Law,  and  entered  immediately  on  the  study 
of  Theology  ;  first  under  the  guidance  of  his 
■r,  and  then  at  Union"  !  j.     Here 

he  enjoyed  the  inestimable  instructions  of 
Dr.  Sampson.  Their  minds  and  hearts  were 
most  congenial,  and  his  affection  for  his  ac- 
complished and  heavenly-minded  professor 
was  reverential  and  enthusiastic.  It  is 
sweet  to  think  of  them  now,  reunited  in  the 
y  of  that  glorious  and  inexhaustible 
Word,  into  whose  hidden  treasures  they 
searched  so  ardently  on  earth. 

While  he  had  still  a  year  of  his  Seminary 
course  before  him,  Dr.  Sampson's  death  oc- 
curred ;  but  the  '-profiting1'  of  his  loving 
pupil  had  so  "appeared  to  all,"  that  he  Wa3 
immediately  appointed  to  conduct  the  stu- 
dies of  a  considerable  portion  of  the  difficult 
department   now  made   vacant.      He  spent 


£0  DABXEY  CARE  JIARRTSOX, 

two   years   in   these   labors,   delighting  the 
;;tu^uts  and  giving  satisfaction  to  all. 

flat  notwithstanding  his  "aptness  to  teach," 
his  devotion  to  oriental  learning,  and  his 
rare  skill  in  the  Hebrew,  his  heart  still 
yearned  for.  the  peculiar  work  of  the  Grospel 
ministry.  For  nine  months  he  acted  as  pas- 
toral supply  to  the  College  Church,  at 
Hampden  Sidney,  avid  for  six  months  more 
he  sustained  this  relation  to  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  Lynchburg. 

A  still  wider  field  now  opened  before  him. 
He  was  chosen  to  be  chaplain  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Virginia.  In  this  office  he  en  cleared 
himself  to  the  ""whole  community,  gained  the 
confidence  and  good-will  of  the  vast  body 
of  students,  and  "  won  golden  opinions" 
from  men  whose  commendation  is  praise  in- 
deed. One  of  those  eminent  Professors  has 
been  heard  to  say,  "  I  never  knew  a  more 
successful  copy  of  the  life  of  our  Saviour 
than  his."  Another  said,  "I  knew  him  in- 
timately. Our  conversation  was  as  unguard-* 
ed  as  that  of  brothers ;  and  every  sentiment 
I  ever  heard  him  utter  was  worthy  of  a  j 
tleman  and  a  Christian.  I  never  knew  him 
to  neglect  a  duty,  or  even  to  postpone  one. 
He  was  always  faithful  to  his  country,  and 
faithful  to  his  Clod." 

It  a#ds  weight  to  these  encomiums  to  re? 


DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON.  \\ 

fleet  how  delicate  and  difficult  are  both  pul- 
pit and  pastoral  labors  among  more  than 
hundred  University  students.  Duringthig 
time,  too,  for  some  months,  the  typhoid  fever 
rag«d  among  them  with  fearful  power.  Early 
and  late  he  w;is  found  at  his  post,  by  the 
bedside  of  the  sick  and  dying,  ministering 
with  unwearied  tenderness,  both  to  body  and 
soul.  He  had  his  reward  in  their  gratitude 
and  love,  and  often  in  evidences  of  their  con- 
>n  or  spiritual  edincati 

Just  as  his  term  of  service  at  the  University 
as  summoned  to  "Clifton,"  that 
beautiful  old  homestead,  the  abode  of  refine-? 
ment  and  piety  and  elegant  hospitality,  and. 
for  many  years  the  scene  of  such  domestic 
happiness  as  God  rarely  grants  on  earth;  too 
rich,  indeed,  and  long-contiuued  already  to 
be  safe  for  those  who  would  "  live  by  the 
faith  of  the  Son  of  God,"  and  have  evidence 
of  their  heavenly  adoption  ;  "for  what  son 
is  he  whom  the  Father  chasteneth  not?" 

But  now  a   shadow  was  on  the  dwelling, 
happy  household  was  tasti  that. 

:d,  indeed,  "the  begiu  sorrows. " 

inmoned  to   the   dying  bed  of 
that  precious  mother,  from   whom   so*; 
of  his  whose  grace- 

ful and  tender  hand  they  had  1  - 

fully  trained ;  and  by  v  -eminent ' 


12  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

ness  and  pi^tye'r.fulness  tliey  were  unceasingly 
consecrated  to  God: 

A  fortnight  after  she  had  "fallen  asleep." 
in  a  letter  to  an  absent  sister,  he  thus  pours 
out  his  chastened  sorrow  :  or  shall  I  not 
call  it  his  '"Song  in  the  night." 

"In  truth,  though  it  may  seem  strange,  I 
3  had  very  little  to  say  to  anybody  since 
the  death  of  our  precious  mother.  The 
great  thoughts  and  emotions  that  fill  mind 
and  heart  at  such  times,  have  not  yet  b-^gun 
to  frame  themselves  in  words.  This  does 
not  a^fise  from  overwhelming  grief.  1  am 
seldom  otherwise  than  cheerful.  Sometimes, 
indeed,  the  thought  of  never  seeing  her 
again  in  all  h^r  various  and  delightful  rela- 
tions to  us,  falls  like  blnck  night  upon  my 
soul.  But  I  do  not  follow  it  up;  and  usu- 
ally I  think  of  her  spirit  in  its  present 
blessedness  and  glory,  and  her  body  as  T  saw 
it  the  night  of  her  death, — the  face  without 
a  trace  of  pain,  and  lighted  up  by  a  smile 
that  seemed  a  ray  caught  from  i  the  excel- 
lent glory.'  I  rejoice  and  thank  God  for 
that  last  view  of  my  mother:  and  trust  I 
shall  bear  that  face  in  mind  until  I  see  it 
again,  before  the  Father's  throne,  in  the  ma- 
jesty, grace  and  beauty  of  immortality.  In- 
deed this  seems  to  be  the  prevailing  state  of 
mind  among   us.     I  had  not  thought  it  pos- 


DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON.  13 

sible  ibat  such  a  loss  could  be  borne  so 
cheerful'  times  I  feel  as  if  we  were 

too  cheerful,  when  our  Teacher,  Counsellor, 
Mother  lies  in  the  cold  grave  ;  is  it  not  due 
to  her  to  mourn?  Then  I  remember  what 
she  was,  how  she  died,  what  she  is  now,  and 
what  she  is  doing,  and  I  think  it  would  be 
grovelling  for  the  children  of  such  a  saint 
to  he  sad.*' 

Very  rich  was  the  baptism  of  grace  and 
peace,  zeal  and  tenderness,  which  came  d< 
upon  his  soul,  as  he  lingered  for  a  few  weeks 
by  this  hallowed  grave;  and  then,  having 
accepted  a  call  for  his  pastoral  services  from 
the  Bethlehem  Church,  in  Hanover,  he  re- 
moved thither  and  entered  on  his  labors. 

He  was  drawn  to  this  position  chiefly  be- 
cause of  the  access  it  gave  him  to  a  multi- 
tude of  negroes,  in  this  immediate  neighbor- 
hood, and  at  Tappahannock,  in  Essex,  where 
he  preached  one  Sabbath  in  the  month.  He 
had  long  felt  a  profound  interest! in  their 
spiritual  welfare;  (an  interest,  let  me 
drawn  in  great  part  from  the  soul  of  his 
mother) ;  it  had  engaged  his  pen  and  his 
prayers;  and  he  now  rejoiced  to  "condescend 
to  men  of  low  estate,"  and,  like  his  3Iastei\ 
"preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor."  From  long 
conversations  with  him  on  this  subject,  lam 
convinced  that  he  would  rather  have  been 


14  t)ABKEY  CARE  HARRISON. 

honored  of  God  to  do  a  great  -work  among' 
them,  than  occupy  the  mo?t  conspicuous  po- 
eition  in  the  gift  of  the  Church. 

Who  that  has  ever  preached  to  them,  es- 
pecially when  gathered  in  large  crowds,  has 
not  found  his  work  full  of  gladness?  Their 
beaming  delight  in  listening  to  the  gospel 
warmly  presented ;  their  devotion  to  the 
person  and  name  of  Jesus ;  their  perpetual 
pleasure  in  the  recital  of  his  miracles,  love, 
sufferings  and  gracious  offices;  the  almost 
electric  response  from  the  whole  congrega- 
tion when  their  fancy  is  pleased,  or  some 
deeper  chord  in  their  experience  is  struck  : 
the  fervor,  simplicity  and  originality  of 
their  prayers,  often  charming  the  ear  by 
their  touching  cadences,  and  melting  the 
heart  by" their  affectionate  pathos  ;  the  wild 
modulations  and  glorious  choral  swell  of 
their  songs;  their  hearty  greetings  of  him 
who  has  warmed  them  afresh  with  the  love' 
of  Christ,  as  he  comes  down  from  the  pulpit 
and  offers  his  hand  i — it  would  be  a  cold  na- 
ture indeed,  which,  amidst  such  scenes,  would 
not  glow  with  new  life,  and  love,  and  joy  in 
the  gospel  of  our  Lord! 

It  is  almost  needless,  then,  to  say  that 
these  influences,  falling  constantly  on  a  soul 
already  inflamed  with  love  to  Grod  and  man, 
were  most  beneficial.     His  preaching  gained 


DABNET  CARR  HARRISON.  [6 

boldness  and  breadth.  His  manner  was 
more  unconstrained.  He  dealt  more  direct- 
ly and  fearlessly  with  the  conscience,  and 
learned  to  abandon  himself  to  the  tide  of 
his  emoti 

„  His  ministrations  were  not  confined,  how- 
ever, to  the  s  One  whole  Sabbath, 
every  month,  and  the  half  of  the  others, 
were  exclusively  theirs;  while  they  could 
freely  participate  in  the  morning  services, 
also,  more  especially  designed  for  their 
I  3rs. 

These  peaceful  labors  were  disturbed  by 
our  national  troubles.  The  calamities  of  his 
Country  weighed  heavily  on  his  heart.  On 
the  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  in  January, 
1SG1,  appointed  by  President  Buchanan  in 
view  of  the  storm  whose  portentous  shadows 
were  darkening  the  land,  he  said  in  a  letter 
to  one  of  his  family,  "I  can  think  of  nothing 
but  our  beloved  country.  All  day  I  have 
wrestled  before  God  in  its  behalf,  and  have 
found  peace  in  being  able  to  commit  all  its 
interests  to  him." 

A  few  months  later  he  writes  :  "What 
would  we  know  of  the  value  or  strength  of 
our  faith,  if  we  were  always  under  summer 
skies'?  For  the  development  of  godlike  char- 
acter, of  faith,  humility,  courage  and  self- 
denial,  there  are  few  better  scenes  and  times 


16  DABNEY  CARR  IIARRI60S. 

than  those  through  which  we  are  now  pass- 
ing. 

"The  South  has,  though  unworthy,  been 
invested  with  the  great  privilege  of  defend- 
ing the  principles  of  1776. 

"  The  same  phenomena  are  re-appearing, 
which  astonished  the  world  a  century  ago. 
No  one  around  me  seems  unwilling  to  come 
down  to  real  privation,  if  the  State  should 
need  the  sacrifice.  And  we  are  far  more 
united  than  during  the  first  devolution.  I 
trust  that  we  shall  be  purified,  elevated  and 
set  forward  for  a  grand  career. 

"My  best  hope  for  the  North  is,  that  she 
will  emerge  from  this  fire  stripped  of  mob- 
ocracy,  and  under  a  limited  monarchy,  or  a 
government  so  strong  as  to  be  republican  in 
name  alone.  I  believe  that,  with  the  social 
condition  of-  the  North,  a  representative  re- 
publican government,  under  the  constitution 
of  1788,  and  on  the  basis  of  universal  suf- 
frage, is  impossible." 

With  an  anxious  heart  he  had  watched  the 
encroachments  of  Northern  fanaticism.  He 
saw  it  agitating  in  Church  and  State,  tramp- 
ling on  the  Bible  and  the  Constitution,  curs- 
ing men  and  blaspheming  God.  He  saw  it 
rending  the  great  religious  denominations, 
one  by  one,  pausing  only  to  riot  a  moment 
in  their  discord,  and  then  hastening  on,  with 


DABNEY  CARK  HARRISON.  17 

its  eye  of  greed,  its  brow  of  brass,  its  lips 
dripping  with  venom,  and  its  hands -only  not 
yet  dripping  with  blood  ! 

And  that  he  was  soon  to  see.  The  dark- 
est shadows  became  darker  realities.  The 
war  was  forced  upon  us.  This  sovereign 
Commonwealth  was  required  to  aid  in  beat- 
ing down  into  degradation,  and  whipping 
back  into  servility,  her  free  sisters  of  the 
further  South,  or  join  with  them  in  their 
just  independence,  and  throw  her  generous 
breast  before  them,  to  receive  the  first  blow 
of  the  tyrant's  rod,  and  bear  the  brunt  of  his 
wrath.  She  obeyed  her  heart,  exercised  her 
right,  and  stood  in  the  breach. 

On  the  18th  of  July,  in  the  battle  of  Bull 
Hun,  he  saw  the  heart's  blood  of  his  gentle 
cousin,  Major  Carter  H.  Harrison,  drawn  by 
Northern  bullets  on  Virginia  soil.  In  three 
days  more,  at  Manassas,  he  saw  his  native 
soil  wet  again  by  the  blood  of  the  only 
nephews  of  his  mother,  the  only  sons  of  their 
mother,  Holmes  and  Tucker  Conrad,  and  by 
the  blood  of  his  own  pure  and  beautiful 
brother,  Lieut.  Peyton  Randolph  Harrison. 
These  four  young  men  were  all  faithful  ser- 
vants of  God.  Their  lives  were  lovely  and 
useful.  In  His  fear  they  fought.  They  were 
sustained  by  His  grace  when  they  fell.  The 
Conrads  were  shot  at  the  same  moment,  and 


18  DABNEY  CAftK  IlAERiSOK. 

falling  side  by  side>  lay,  as  in  the  sleep  of 
childhood,  almost  in  each  other's  arms.  The 
younger  of  them  was  nearly  ready  to  begin 
the  ministry  of  the  gospel. 

The  noble  death  of  these  young  man  stir* 
red  the  soul  of  Dabney  Harrison  to  its  depth. 
From  the  beginning  of  the  war  he  had  long- 
ed to  share  the  hardships  and  dangers  of  his 
compatriots.  Nothing  but  his  profession 
held  him  back  for  a  moment.  But  now  he 
hesitated  no  longer.  His  mind  was  made 
up.  "I  must  take  my  brother's  place,"  he 
calmly  said,  and  nothing  could  turn  him 
from  that  resolve.  He  left  "  the  quiet  and 
still  air  of  delightful  studies,"  left  his  lov* 
ing  people  and  sweet  little  home  in  Han- 
over, andj  having  raised  a  company  by  great 
personal  exertions,  entered  the  service. 

It  could  hardly  be  expected  that  all  his 
friends  should  approve  this  step.  His  mo- 
tives, indeed,  were  never  doubted*,  though 
some  questioned  the  wisdom  of  his  decision. 
They  think  it  wrong  for  a  minister  of  Jesus 
ever  to  take  the  sword.  I  shall  not  under- 
take to  decide  between  their  judgment  and 
his.  I  know  he  would  have  abhorred  him- 
self, and  repented  in  dust  and  ashes,  if  he 
had  detected  any  passion  for  military  glory 
turning  him  aside  from  his  soul's  great  aim 
and  ead?  tho  servioo  and  glory  of  Christ 


DABNEY  CARR  nARRISON.  10 

Jesus  liis  Lord.  I  know  that  be  would  have 
fought  in  no  ^r  but  one  in  which  his  coun- 
try was  repelling  invasion,  and  doing  battle 
for  its  very  hearth-stones  and  the  aitai  - 
God.  I  know  that,  even  then,  he  would 
never  havu  taken  up  the  sword,  if  he  must 
have  laid  down  the  Bible;  that  he  would 
never  have  become  a  captain,  if  he  could  not 
also  remain  a  minister.  I  know  that  he  en- 
tered the  army  devoutly  believing  that,  by 
this  step,  his  usefulness,  even  as  a  preacher 
of  God's  word,  would  be  increased. 

If  ever  there  was  a  bosom  in  which  the 
heart  of  peace  beat  with  even  pulse,  it  was 
his.  If  ever  there  was  a  house  where  an 
apostle  and  his  benediction  might  tarry,  be- 
cause "  the  son  of  peace  wras  there,"  that, 
too,  was  his.  He  was  a  child  of  "the  God 
of  peace,"  an  ambassador  of  "the  Prince  of 
peace,"  a  minister  of  "the  gospel  of  peace." 
Peace  reigned  in  his  heart;  it  beamed  from 
his  face;  it  dwelt  on  his  lips.  Nothing 
could  disturb  it;  for  it  was  "the  peace  of 
God,  whir-h  passcth  all  understanding,"  and,, 
•ding  to  the  promise,  it  "kept"  (that  is, 
guarded*)    "his   heart   and   mind    through 

*  The  original  -word  means  etymologically,  "  to 
be  on  the  look-oat,"  "to  act  as  a  vidette,  or  signal 
watchman,"  or  what  is  now  so  familiar  to  us,  "  a 

picket-guard.-'  How  suggestive  as  to  the  position 
of  "  God's  peace  "  in  its  guardianship  of  the  Chris- 
tian's  soul ! 


20  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

Christ  Jesus."  Whatever  the  care  or  cross, 
however  dark  the  night  or  r^gh  the  storm, 
this  heavenly  sunshine  in  Ins  breast  was 
clear.  Under  all  the  provocations  of  this 
war,  who  saw  him  give  way,  even  for  a  mo- 
ment, to  a  bitter  spirit,  or  heard  him  speak 
a  word  unbecoming  a  minister  of  Christ  1 — 
Several  months  after  he  entered  the  service, 
he  said,  with  thankfulness  and  joy,  that  he 
had  not  been  conscious  of  one  revengeful 
feeling  toward  our  enemies.  No  :  he  would 
fight  for  his  country ;  but  he  would  not  hate. 
He  durst  die,  but  not  sin.  Conscience,  not 
passion,  made  him  a  soldier;  but  who  does 
not  know  that  conscience  is  mightier  than 
passion  !  His  valor  was,  through  the  grace 
of  God,  without  fierceness;  but  like  steel, 
whose  heat  has  been  quenched  in  cold  waters, 
it  was,  therefore,  all  the  firmer  and  keener, 
of  higher  polish  and  more  fatal  stroke. 

He  spent  three  months  with  his  company 
in  the  Camp  of  Instruction,  near  Richmond. 
Besides  giving  himself  with  ardor  to  his  mil- 
itary duties,  he  abounded  in  labors  for  the 
souls  of  the  thousands  around  him. 

Of  his  character  and  usefulness  as  a  sol- 
dier and  a  Christian,  in  his  new  relations,  I 
am  enabled  to  present  the  following  decisive 
testimony  from  the  pen  of  an  eye-witness. 
It  was  prepared,  at  my  request,  by  my  bro- 


DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON.  21 

ther,  the  Rev.  Moses  D.  Hoge,  D.  P.,  of  Rich- 
mond, who,  in  addition  to  his  pastoral  duties 
in  the  city,  has  been  serving  as  Chaplain  to 
that  camp,  and  was  in  daily  intercourse  with 
Captain  Harrison  during  his  stay  there. 

u  Since  my  connection  with  the  Camp  of 
Instruction,  I  have  frequently  enjoyed  the 
assistance  of  pastors  of  different  denomina- 
tions residing  in  Richmond,  and  of  minis- 
ters attach i.'d  to  regiments  temporarily  sta- 
tioned in  the  camp. 

"Of  the  latter,  Captain  Harrison  was  with 
us  longer  than  any  other  clergyman  in  the 
service,  and  he  delighted  to  avail  himself  of 
every  opportunity  of  aiding  me  in  my  im- 
portant work. 

"In  addition  to  daily  visits  to  the  sick  in 
the  hospitals,  I  had  three  appointments  each 
week  for  preaching  in  the  camp;  and  when- 
ever I  was  prevented  by  any  cause  from  meet- 
ing these  engagements,  he  was  always  ready 
to  take  my  place;  and  I  had  the  most  abun- 
dant evidence  of  the  efficiency  of  his  labors, 
and  of  the  gratitude  of  the  men  for  his  ef- 
forts to  promote  their  temporal  and  spiritual 
welfare. 

"  His  gentleness  and  sympathy;  his  facil- 
ity in  adapting  his  instructions  to  the  char- 
acters and  capacities  of  the  sick,  and  the 
unction  that  gave  such  a  charm  to  his  pray- 


22  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

ers,  always  rendered  him  a  welcome  visitor 
to  the  Hospital,  and  made  him  the  instru- 
ment both  of  profit  and  consolation. 

"During  the  summer,  several  thousand 
troops  were  sometimes  stationed  at  once  in 
our  camp,  and  Captain  Harrison  was,  of 
course,  brought  into  contact  with  a  large 
number  of  officers.  Over  these  he  expe- 
rienced the  most  happy  influence. 

"  While  no  man  was  more  inflexible  in  his 
adherence  to  his  convictions  of  duty,  or  more 
prompt  to  rebuke  whatever  he  believed  to 
be  wrong  in  principle  or  in  conduct,  yet  his 
manner  was  so  conciliating ;  such  was  the 
candor  and  kindness  of  his  disposition  ;  such 
his  scrupulous  respect  for  the  rights,  and 
regard  for  the  feelings  of  others,  that  he 
rarely  gave  offence,  even  when  he  attempted 
to  repress  what  he  clemmed  culpable.  The 
very  presence  of  one  so  frank  and  fearless  in 
his  bearing,  so  delicate  and  refined  in  his 
tastes,  so  pure  and  elevated  in  his  princi- 
ples, was  ordinarily  sufficient  to  check  any 
exhibitions  of  profanity  or  vulgarity.  And, 
withal,  he  was  so  genial  in  his  nature,  so  en- 
tertaining in  his  conversation,  and  obliging 
in  his  disposition,  that  his  presence  was  never 
regarded  as  imposing  an  irksome  restraint, 
even  in  a  company  of  the  irreligious. 

<•  A   striking   illustration   of  his  self-pos- 


bABNET  CARR  HARRISON.  23 

session  and  insensibility  to  fear  occurred, 
very  unexpectedly,  one  day  during  his  stay- 
in  our  camp. 

"  An  altercation  took  place  between  a  few 
members  of  two  regiments,  stationed  not  far 
from   each    other,  which   resulted   in  the  se- 
rious wounding   of  one   of  the    men.     In  a 
few  moments  a  large    number  in  loth  regi- 
ments took  up  the  quarrel.      Several  compa- 
nies rushed,  arms  in  hand,  to  the  scene  of  the 
tnelee,  and    stood    confronting    each    other, 
ready   to  engage   in  what  threatened  to  be- 
come a   bloody   strife.     Colonel,  now  Gene- 
ral,  Diiumock,    then    Comniandant    of    the 
Post,  was  providentially  passing  at  the  mo- 
ment, and    Captain    Harrison  also,  and  they 
ran  between  the  exasperated  lines,  and  kept 
them   asunder.     Captain    Harrison   at   once 
assumed   an   authority   to   which  he  had  no 
official  right,  and  yet  one  whose  moral  force 
Was  quickly  felt;  and   by   means  of  his  ex- 
postulations and  commands,  addressed  chief- 
ly to  the  officers  on  either  side,  be  gave  such 
efficient  co-operation  to  General  Diinmock, 
as  to  constrain  the   belligerents  to  separate, 
and   withdraw   to  their   several   quarters. — 
Thus,  what  began  as  a  brnwl,  but  came  near 
ending  as  a  battle,  was  promptly  and  fiually 
suppressed. 
"One  of  tho  most  interesting  incidents 


24  DABNKY  CARE  HARRISON. 

connected  with  Captain  Harrison's  sojourn 
in  our  camp,  was  his  success  in  forming  a 
"  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  "  in 
the  regiment*  to  which  his  company  was  at- 
tached. The  organization  was  as  complete 
and  thorough  as  that  of  any  similar  associa- 
tion in  town  or  city.  It  had  the  usual  num- 
ber of  officers  and  committees  for  conduct- 
ing prayer-meetings,  distributing  religious 
publications,  and  providing  teachers  for  the 
Sabbath  school  and  Bible  classes.  No  one, 
unfamiliar  with  camp-life,  can  fully  appre- 
ciate the  value  of  such  an  association  in 
counteracting  the  demoralization  so  common 
among  men  exposed  to  such  temptations  as 
soldiers  are,  and  deprived  too  of  those  do- 
mestic, social  and  religious  influences,  which, 
like  guardian  angeis,  hovered  around  them 
in  their  own  homes.  A  chaplain,  whether 
at  a  post  ^r  in  a  regiment,  can  have  no  ally 
comparable  to  a  well  organized  and  efficient- 
ly managed  Christian  Association  among  the 
men  to  whom  he  ministers.  It  is  not  only 
an  instrument  of  incalculable  good  to  the 
irreligious^  but  one  of  the  best  means  of 
keeping  alive  the  spirituality,  and  of  de- 
veloping the  Christian  graces  of  the  pious 
officers  and  men  who  become  enlisted  in  its 
work  as  active  members. 

♦The  Fifty -Sixth  JElegiment  of  Virginia  Voluj*- 
toers. 


I 

DABNEZ  CARR  HA.RRISON.  25 

"If  others  have  shown 

1 hovr  awful  goodness  is ' 

it  was  Dabney  Harrison's  happy  province  to 
show  how  amiable  and  attractive  it  may  ap- 
pear, when  thus  illustrated  in  the  life  of  a 
Christrian  gentleman  and  soldier.  While 
he  remained  in  our  camp,  he  moved  about  as 
one  whose  superiority  was  tacitly  acknowl- 
edged without  exciting  ill-will  or  envy;  and 
when  he  left  us,  he  was  regretted  as  one 
whose  place  was  not  to  be  filled  again.  Since 
the  commencement  of  this  war,  my  position 
has  brought  me  in  contact  with  many  of  the 
officers  in  our  army,  but  I  have  known  few 
equal,  and  none  superior,  to  my  lamented 
friend,  in  the  possession  of  those  gifts  and 
graces  which  impart  true  nobility  to  the 
man,  and  attractive  loveliness  to  the  Chris- 
tian. 

"When  the  startling  telegram  came,  an- 
nouncing his  death,  I  felt  and  said,  as  doubt- 
less so  many  others  did,  that  when  the  par- 
ticulars of  the  event  should  reach  us,  they 
would  be  such  as  to  fill  the  heart  of  every 
friend  with  just  pride,  and  such  as  would 
show  to  the  world  how  gloriously  a  Chris- 
tian soldier  could  die  for  the  sacred  cause  to 
which  he  had  consecrated  his  all. 

"  So  far  as  the   fulfilment  of  all  these  ex- 
pectations is  concerned,  there  is  nothing  left 
B 


4 
26  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

to  wish ;  for  in  all  this  war,  and  in  all  past 
wars,  I  believe  no  record  can  be  found  of 
two  brothers  whose  fall  was  characterized  by 
more  that  is  calculated  to  awaken  sentiments 
of  reverential  admiration.  Examples  like 
theirs  illustrate  whatever  is  noblest  and 
most  worthy  of  perpetual  remembrance  in 
the  annals  of  a  people  battling  for  liberty 
and  right.  How  precious  must  ever  be  the 
independence  which  is  won  by  such  sacri- 
fices!" 

While  Captain  Harrison's  heart  and  work 
extended  to  the  surrounding  multitudes,  it 
is  only  just  to  say  that  his  first  anxiety  was 
for  his  own  men.  He  had  gathered  them 
and  given  them  to  the  service.  They  were 
to  follow  him,  it  might  be  to  the  death.  He 
was  their  Captain,  and  so  was  in  closer  rela- 
tion to  them  than  was  possible  for  any  other 
officer.  They,  of  all  others,  would  see  what 
he  actually  was,  as  a  servant  of  his  country, 
as  a  servant  of  his  God.  Should  he  be  self- 
indulgent,  querulous,  faint-hearted,  indiffer- 
ent to  discipline,  insubordinate  to  his  supe- 
riors, what  could  he  expect  of  them  ? 

Therefore  he  sought  to  be,  every  day  and 
in  everything,  an  example  to  them.  He 
shared  their  hardships, and  all  so  cheerfully, 
that  the  most  despondent  could  ha  idly  fail 
to  catch  some  quickening  ray  from  his  sun- 


DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON,  «7 

ny  spirit.  As  far  as  waspossible,too,hemadc 
them  share  any  comfort  pertaining  to  his 
position.  While  his  discipline  was  firm,  his 
sorrow  that  they  should  need  it  was  bo  mani- 
fest, that  their  hearts  were  drawn  out  in  new 
love  to  him,  and  they  tried  ever  after  to  do 
right  for  his  sake.  The  inexperienced  found 
in  him  a  faithful  guardian,  the  perplexed 
Went  to  him  freely  for  counsel,  and  all  the 
company  felt  that  in  him  they  had  not  only 
a  brave  and  vigilant  commander,  but  a  truo 
friend. 

As  they  were  under  him,  he  remembered 
that  he  was  answerable  for  them.  After  a 
battle  his  country  might  say  to  him,  "  You 
held  a  Captain's  commission.  A  company 
of  men  was  entrusted  to  your  care.  Your 
problem  was;  how  to  produce,  in  a  given 
time,  from  a  given  number  of  men  having 
such  and  such  capacities,  the  greatest  aggre- 
gate of  military  efficiency.  How  have  you 
solved  it?  How  much  of  the  responsibility 
of  this  day's  losses,  how  much  of  the  glory 
of  this  day's  successes,  belong?  to  you?" — 
Therefore  he  labored  steadfastly  to  make 
the  most  of  his  company, — to  make  the  most 
of  each  man,  and  set  him  in  the  field  in  his 
best  plight,  with  the  best  preparation,  and 
both  urged  and  upheld  by  the  best  princi- 
ples. 


28  DABNEY  CAftR  HAEftlSOK. 

And  what  were  those  principles?  The 
profounclest  of  all  writers  shall  answer.  Af- 
ter celebrating  the  heroic  patience  and  valor 
of  the  grandest  statesman  and  commander 
of  antiquity,  he  lays  bare  the  secret  springs 
of  his  power  in  these  words :  "  He  endured 
as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible."  How  can 
any  principle  of  action  be  so  fruitful  in  all 
that  is  great  and  good,  as  faith  in  God, — 
living  faith  in  that  Being  who  alone  is  infi- 
nite in  greatness  and  goodness!  To  dwell 
consciously  in  His  immediate  presence,  and 
under  His  all-beholding  eye ;  to  act  in  view 
of  His  judgment  throne,  and  therefore  to 
strive  to  "  do  always  those  things  that  please 
Him  ;"  to  enjoy  His  gracious  friendship  ;  to 
be  assured  of  His  sympathy  in  every  sorrow, 
and  His  help  in  every  difficulty ;  to  labor  by 
day,  and  lie  down  by  night  under  His  smile; 
yea,  to  enter  into  a  new  and  lofty  relation- 
ship with  Him,  and  be  filled  with  a  new  and 
nobler  life  :  must  not  these  things  tell  with 
great  and  salutary  power  upon  the  charac- 
ter ]  Every  man,  not  abandoned  to  impu- 
dence, acts  carefully  in  the  presence  of 
others.  But  an  enlightened  conscience  is  a 
perpetual  witness,  before  which  the  soul 
must  needs  be  virtuous ;  or,  as  an  old  writer 
expresses  it,  "  Conscience  is  as  a  thousand 
witnesses;'5   and  then,  rising  higher  in  the 


DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON.  29 

scale  of  controlling  influences,  lie  declares 
with  an  energy  which  is  only  just,  that 
"  the  all-seeing  God  is  as  a  thousrhd  con- 
sciences." 

But  does  not  the  great  poet  of  human  na- 
ture tell  us  that  "  Conscience  does  make 
cowards  of  us  all?"  Yes,  it  does  and  ought 
to  hold  us  back  when  we  would  do  wrong. 
But  when  we  do  right ;  when  the  path  of 
danger  is  also  the  path  of  duty ;  when  we 
draw  the  sword  in  righteous  war;  then,  with 
Coleridge,  we  may  turn  the  sentiment,  and 
cry  out,  "  but  oh !  it  is  conscience  too  which 
makes  heroes  of  us  all !"  Or  with  Shaks- 
peare  himself  we  may  exclaim, 

"What  stronger  breast-plate  than  a  heart  un- 
tainted ? 

Thrice  is  he  arm'd,  that  hath  his  quarrel 
just!" 

Was  not  Captain  Harrison  wise,  then,  in 
trying  to  bring  his  men  to  fear  God?  Was 
it  not  a  patriotic  as  well  as  a  Christian  duty? 
When,  b}'  preaching  the  gospel  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  he  strove  to  prepare  his  men  for  the 
retributions  which  lie  beyond  the  grave,  was 
he  not  equally  preparing  them  for  the  res- 
ponsibilities which  lie  on  this  side  of  it?  If 
a  whole  army  were  sober,  patient,  content; 
if  every  man  were  vigilant,  courageous  and 
full  of  zeal;  if  "the  awful  idea  of  account- 


SO  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

ability  n  waited  on  authority,  and  rose  with 
the  ran^L;  while  the  humblest  private  es- 
teemed it  honor  and  dignity  enough  to  obey 
without  questioning,  and  stand  in  his  lot 
without  flinching;  would  not  that  army  be 
full  of  the  stuff  of  which  victories  are  made  ? 
And  does  not  the  gospel  enjoin  all  these  vir- 
tues? Yea,  does  it  not  supply  them,  too, 
as  nothing  else  ever  can  ?  Supply  them  to  all 
who  seek  them  with  an  honest,  earnest,  be- 
lieving heart?  Then,  in  preaching  the  gos- 
pel to  his  men,  was  not  this  army  officer 
doing  military  service  most  direct  and  ex- 
cellent?* 

If  these  things  are"  true,  then  another 
thing  is  false ;  that  foul  maxim,  namely, 
which  has  run  so  long  a  career  of  mischief, 
"the  worse  the  man,  the  better  the  soldier !" 
It  is  false,  or  all  war  is  wickedness,  and 
every  good  soldier  is  a  bad  man,  and  the  best 
soldier  is  a  villian.  It  is  false,  or  all  those 
attributes  and  deeds,  by  which  liberty  has 
been  won  and  right  maintained,  ought  no 
more  to  thrill  our  hearts  and  moisten  our 
eyes ;  they  should  be  abhorred,  and  consign- 
ed to  infamy. 

*  "  The  virtue  and  fidelity  which  should  charac- 
erize  a  soldier,  can  be  learned  from  the  holy  pages 
of  the  Bible  alone." — General  Robert  E.  Lee. 


DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON.  31 

Here  I   crave  room  in  behalf  of  virtuous 
and  god ly  men  in   great  numbers,  fallen  or 
yet  fighting   in  our  righteous  cause ;  in  be- 
half also  of  ignorant  and  tempted   men  ;  to 
plead   "a   little   further   against   this    odious 
slander  on  all  true  heroism.    False  and  fool- 
ish as  it  is,  it  has  no  small  share  in  the  cor- 
ruptions prevalent  in  almost  every  army. — 
Vicious  men,  besides  making  it  both  a  cloak 
and  spur  for  their  vices,   have   used   it  to 
frighten   the   green   recruit  into  premature 
ripeness  in  sin,  as  his  only  way  to  soldierly 
renown.     With   what    result,   let    Cowper's 
picture  of  the  returned  soldier  show. 
"To  swear,  to  game,  to  drink,  to  show  at  home 
By  lewdness,  idleness  and  Sabbath-breaking, 
The  great  proficiency  he  made  abroad, 
T'  astonish  and  to  grieve  his  gazing  friends, 
To  break  some  maiden's  and  his  mother's  heart, 
To  be  a  pest  where  he  was  useful  once, 
Are  his  sole  aim,  and  all  his  glory  now" 

"  Sir  Alsxander  Ball,"  says  Coleridge  in 
his  exquisite  biographical  sketch  of  that  dis- 
tinguished British  Admiral,  the  honored 
and  special  friend  of  Lord  Nelson,  "  Sir 
Alexander  Ball  quoted  the  speech  of  an  old 
admiral,  one  of  whose  two  great  wishes  was 
to  have  a  ship's  crew  composed  altogether  of 
serious  Scotchmen.  He  spoke  with  great 
reprobation  of  the  vulgar  notion,  'the  worse 
man,  the  better  sailor.'     Courage,  he  said, 


32  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

was  the  natural  product  of  familiarity  with 
clanger,  while  thoughtlessness  would  often- 
times turn  into  fool-hardiness ;  and  that  he 
had  always  found  the  most  usefully  brave 
sailors  the  greatest  and  most  rational  of  his 

crew.     The  best  sailor  he  ever  had 

was  never  heard  to  swear  an  oath,  and  was 
remarkable  for  the  firmness  with  which  he 
devoted  a  part  of  every  Sunday  to  the  read- 
ing of  his  Bible. "  "  I  record  this,"  adds 
Coleridge,  "  with  satisfaction  as  a  testimony 
of  great  weight,  and  in  all  respects  unexcep- 
tionable." 

"I  have  often  heard  it  said,"  wrote  Hed- 
ley  Vicars,  'The  worse  the  man,  the  better 
the  soldier !'  "  Facts  contradict  this  un- 
truth. Were  I  ever,  as  the  leader  of  a  for- 
lorn hope,  allowed  to  select  my  men,  it 
would  be  most  certainly  from  among  the  sol- 
diers of  Christ;  for  who  should  fight  so  fear- 
lessly and  bravely,  as  those  to  whom  death 
presents  no  after  terrors?"* 

But  not  with  words  alone  did  Hedley  Vi- 
cars bear  witness.  Far  clearer  is  the  utter- 
ance of  his  eloquent  life.  Would  that  every 
soldier  in  our  army  could  read  the  charming 
narrative  !  Who  that  has,  does  not  feel  his 
heart  kindling  into  new  warmth  and  resolu- 

*  Memorials  of  Captain  Heclley  Vicars,  p.  117.  • 


DABNKY  CARR  HARRISON.  33 

tion,  as  lie  recalls  his  generous  nature,  his 
abounding  usefulness,  and  the  touching 
beauty  of  his  victorious  death? 

But  need  I  multiply  testimony  on  a  sub- 
ject like  this]  Tell  me,  my  countrymen, 
does  an  immortal  man  go  best  into  battle 
with  an  oath  or  a  prayer  on  his  lips?  With 
snatches  of  a  lewd  ballad  suddenly  scared 
from  his  memory,  or  with  the  grand  meas- 
ures of  some  brave  old  psalm  still  ringing 
through  his  soul  and  bracing  his  frame  ? — 
With  the  senses  blunted  and  the  brain  dizzy 
with  the  fumes  of  a  recent  debauch,  or  with 
all  his  faculties  kept  clear  by  temperance, 
firm  by  exercise,  and  bright  with  the  smile 
of  an  approving  conscience  and  an  approv- 
ing God? 

If  this  be  a  digression,  it  matters  little. 
In  such  a  day  as  this,  we  are  all  rather  wait- 
ing to  hail  any  re-enforcements  to  truth, 
thou  critical  as  to  the  order  of  their  com- 
ing in. 

But  I  do  not  feel  that  I  have  turned  aside 
for  a  moment  from  my  chief  purpose.  All 
the  while  as  I  write,  "  the  voice  of  my  broth- 
er's blood  crieth  unto  me."  From  the  far- 
off  banks  of  the  Cumberland  it  utters  its 
testimony,  "He,  being  dead,  yet  speaketk." 
He  has  taken  his  place  in  that  bright  over- 
shadowing "cloud  of  witnesses,"  whose  tes- 


34  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

timony  gathers  so  luminously  around  this 
truth, — that  a  hearty  faith  in  God  is  the 
best  preparation  for  "the  life  that  now  is," 
and  for  "  that  which  is  to  come." 

Let  us  thank  God  that  "  we  are  compassed 
about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses  "  to 
so  glorious  a  truth.  "  The  time  would  fail 
me  to  tell  of"  those  elder  heroes,  patriots 
and  martyrs  in  God's  great  witnessing  army, 
who  in  the  might  of  faith,  "  subdued  king- 
doms, wrought  righteousness,  obtained  prom- 
ises, stopped  the  mouths  of  lions,  quenched 
the  violence  of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of  the 
sword,  out  of  weakness  were  made  strong, 
waxed  valiant  in  fight,  turned  to  flight  the 
armies  of  the  aliens  ;"  "  of  whom  the  world 
was  not  worthy."  They  have  been  raised  up 
in  all  ages.  Our  own  day  has  been  greatly 
honored.  Such  men  as  Havelock  in  India, 
whom  Lord  Hardinge  pronounced  "  every 
inch  a  soldier,  and  every  inch  a  Christian," 
Hedley  Vicars  in  the  Crimea,  and  Dabney 
Harrison  in  our  own  Confederacy,  do  not 
stand  alone.  Each  one  of  them  is  the  rep- 
resentative of  a  "goodly  fellowship"  in 
"precious  faith"  and  achievement  answera- 
ble thereto.  One  died  "  in  the  fulness  of 
all  his  powers,  in  the  rich  autumn  of  ripe 
yet  undecaying  manhood."  The  others  were 
cut  off  in  the  golden  prime  of  their  fruitful 


DAENEY  CARR  HARRISON.  35 

summer.  But  they  were  all  soldiers  iu  the 
same  great  army,  and,  "according  to  the 
grace  given  them,"  they  "fought  a  good 
fight,"  they  "finished  their  course,"  they 
"kept  the  faith." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  on  the  hard- 
ships of  Captain  Harrison's  winter  campaign 
in  the  West; — hard  fare  and  harder  lodging, 
and  constant  exposure  to  the  wet  and  cold. 
Whatever  he  bore,  many  thousands  bore 
with  him  ;  and  there  are  multitudes  of  whom 
that  may  be  said,  which  is  so  true  of  him  ; 
no  one  ever  saw  him  falter,  no  one  ever 
heard  him  murmur.  A  brief  extract  from 
one  of  his  letters  may  serve  to  show  the 
pleasant  spirit  in  which  all  these  privations 
and  annoyances  were  niut. 

Bowling  Green,  Kentucky,  ) 
January  18,  1862.  S 
"  My  Dear  Father  :  I  have  been  forcibly 
reminded,  to-day,  of  an  incident  in  lluxton's 
travels.  Out  on  a  prairie,  he  found  a  wretch- 
ed looking  man,  all  alone,  in  a  pouring  rain, 
stooping  over  a  few  smouldering  embers,  and 
singing, 

4  How  happy  are  we, 
Who  from  care  are  free  ! 
Oh  !   why  are  not  all 
Contented  like  me  ?' 

"My  tent  is  on  a  hill-side,  and  has  a  flue 
instead   of  a  chimney.     It   rained  hard  all 


36  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

last  night,  has  rained  all  of  to-day,  and  is 
raining  yet.  The  water  has  risen  in  my 
tent,  the  fire  has  been  drowned  out,  the  floor 
is  nearty  all  mud,  and  I  have  been  writing 
all  the  morning,  in  a  chair  stuck  deep  in 
this  mud.  My  bed  is  kept  out  of  it  by 
some  fence-rails,  and  my  larder  is  a  basket 
on  the  ground  at  the  bed's  head,  containing 
a  piece  of  pork  and  a  bag  of  flour.  There 
is  not  a  negro  in  Virginia  that' would  not 
despise  such  lodgings.  But  I  am  'contented.' 
I  sleep  soundly,  work  hard,  eat  heartly,  and 
am  fattening." 

A  day  or  two  later  he  writes :  "I  have 
just  finished  a  large  stone  chimney  to  my 
tent,  and  shall  have  it  floored  with  poles  to- 
morrow ;  then  I  shall  be  in  great  state  !" 

But  this  life  had,  now  and  then,  a  charm- 
ing interruption.  His  letters  speak  grate- 
fully of  kindness  and  hospitality  at  almost 
every  stopping-place.  They  make  special 
mention  of  Lynchburg,  where  his  ever  faith- 
ful and  honored  friend,  "good  Captain  Mc- 
Corkle "  took  him  in  charge ;  Wytheville, 
where  a  gentleman  came  out  and  loaded  him 
with  benefits ;  Abingdon,  where  he  "  was 
asked  at  once  to  delightful  quarters  at  the 
Martha  Washington  Institute,"  and  "  made 
entirely  at  home  "  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Harris. 
its   principal ;    and   Iiusselville,    Kentucky, 


DABtfEY  CARR  HARRISON.  ST 

where,  having  begun  a  letter,  almost^sick, 
and  sitting  on  a  stone,  out  in  the  fast-falling 
sleet,  he  ended  it  before  a  blazing  fire,  in  his 
luxurious  chamber  in  the  house  of  some  of 
his  kindred,  now  met  for  the  first  time. 

After  entering  the  service,  his  heart  never 
wavered.  To  one  who  urged  doubts  as  to 
the  propriety  of  his  course,  he  thus  replies; 
"I  am  honestly  and  earnestly  engaged  in  a 
great  work.  The  causes  of  discouragement 
as  to  my  ministerial  usefulness  are,  I  con- 
fess, very  great ;  yet  I  hope  I  have  done 
some  good.  I  never  felt  more  convinced 
that  it  is  incumbent  on  me  to  do  this  work, 
I  did  not  expect  comfort  when  I  entered  on 
it,  and  I  have  not  been  disappointed.  I>ut 
a  great  opportunity  for  performing  and  en- 
during in  the  service  of  G-od  and  my  coun- 
try I  have  found,  and  I  do  not  regret  it." 

He  speaks  modestly  when  he  says  he  hopes 
he  has  done  some  good.  His  usefulness  was 
a  continual  dew.  It  is  not  possible  to  esti- 
mate the  precious  influence  which  constantly 
streamed,  not  only  from  his  special  essays  to 
do  good,  but  from  his  whole  life  and  his  very 
presence.  Some  of  his  men  were  addicted 
to  profane  swearing ;  but  when  they  saw  how 
their  Captain  was  grieved  by  it,  they  either 
abandoned  the  habit,  or  were  careful  never 
to  offend  where  he  could  hear.     And  to  how 


38  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON, 

nianv  did  he  give  altogether  new  impressions 
of  the  religion  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  when  they 
saw  how  beautifully  innocence  could  blend 
with  wisdom  ;  how  the  very  purity  of  woman 
could  consist  with  the  valor  of  man,  just  as 
whiteness  and  enduring  substance  are  com- 
bined in  marble ;  and  how  the  most  uncom- 
promising godliness  could  be  inwoven  with 
the  elegance  of  the  gentleman,  while  the  de- 
voutest  piety  but  gave  new  fire  to  the  ardor 
of  the  patriot ! 

And  may  we  not  hope  that  many)  who  as 
they  looked  on  him  felt  that  "  wisdom's  ways 
are,"  indeed,  "  ways  of  pleasantness,"  and 
that  "  all  her  paths  are  peace,"  will  not  rest 
till  they  are  themselves  walking  therein  1 
That  they  who  were  charmed  with  "  the 
beauty  of  holiness"  as  it  shone  in  him,  will 
seek  for  it,  and  find  it,  as,  he  did,  in  the  imi- 
tation of  Jesus'? 

A  few  days  ago  an  intelligent  gentleman, 
while  conversing  with  me  about  him,  sud- 
denly exclaimed  with  tears,  "  0  !  sir,  I  never 
could  look  in  that  man's  face  without  think- 
ing of  our  Saviour  !"  Would  that  this  might 
be  the  thought  first  awakened  in  the  minds 
of  all  who  knew  him  as  they  recall  his  image ; 
and  that  they  also,  who  know  him  only  from 
this  imperfect  sketch,  might  be  led  to  look 
with   adoring  contemplation  on  the  face  of 


BABNEY  CARRIIARRISON.  39 

his  blessed  Master  !  To  Ilim  belongs^all  the 
glory  of  whatever  was  excellent  in  Bus  ser- 
vant. Oh,  how  exceeding  fair  must  He  be) 
when  lie  can  thus  beautify  our  vile  nature! 

.  The  following  extracts  show  Capt.  Harri- 
son's faithful  devotion  to  his  men,  and  how, 
even  in  these  stormy  times,  God  sometimes 
rewarded  his  spiritual  husbandry  with  heav- 
enly  fruit:  "After  a  weary  day,  I  settled 
down  for  the  night  to  nurse  my  good  old  Ser- 
geant Jones.  His  life  is  despaired  of.  I  am 
much  attached  to  him,  and  was  glad  to  wait 
on  him.  I  have  for  some  time  been  striving 
to  bring  him  to  Christ,  and  I  should  not  be 
without  hope  in  his  death," 

A  day  or  two  later ;  "  My  good  old  Ser- 
geant is  gone.  Two  evenings  before  his 
death,  he  held  my  hand  for  a  long  time,  and 
said  he  loved  me  very  much  as  God's  instru- 
ment for  good  to  him.  I  trust  it  may  be 
true." 

For  those  who  saw  with  admiration  his 
constant  cheerfulness  after  his  sore  bereave- 
ment at  Manassas,  I  cannot  forbear  drawing 
the  veil  a  little  aside,  that  they  may  look 
into  his  heart,  and  see  what  the  burden  was, 
which  for  Christ  and  his  country's  sake,  he 
thus  carried.  "In  truth,"  he  writes  a  few 
weeks  before  his  death,  "  one  great  grief  is 
so   constantly  upou  my  heart,  that  it  drives 


40  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

out  s^Jfish  sorrow.  I  cannot  get  over  the 
loss  of  my  brother;  my  noble,  charming, 
gallant,  godly  brother.  Love  and  admiration 
for  his  person ;  delight  in  his  society  and 
conversation  ;  pride  in  his  great,  tender  soul, 
wondrous  gifts,  high  character  and  success  ; 
and  hopes  for  a  future  of  increasing  useful- 
ness and  happiness;— all  dashed  at  one  fell 
blow!  I  submit  to  it;  for  him  I  rejoice  in 
it;  but  I  can  not  get  used  to  it.  I  believe 
I  shall  miss  him  constantly  and  sorrowfully, 
as  long  as  I  live.  I  am  not  sad ;  even  now, 
when  deprived  of  my  wife  and  little  ones. 
But  I  feel  as  if  I  would  rather  be  serious 
the  rest  of  my  life.  I  am  glad  you  told  me 
of  your  Christmas.  Had  I  been  present  at 
your  morning  worship,  I  expect  I  should 
have  wept  too ;  my  tears  lie  almost  as  shal- 
low now,  as  when  I  was  a  child." 

Shortly  after,  he  thus  writes  to  one  who 
had  recently  confessed  Christ,  and  on  whose 
young  heart  the  same  "great  grief"  was  ty- 
ing, while  heavy  strokes  were  soon  to  fall  in 
swift  succession :  "  If  sorrow  weans  us  from 
the  world,  and  makes  heaven  look  bright;  if 
it  humbles  our  pride,  and  makes  us  cling  to 
Christ;  it  is  not  to  be  repented  of.  lam 
glad  to  see  that  your  trouble  does  not  take 
the  turn  of  doubting  your  acceptance  with 
God.     Never  let  it  do  that !     We  have  suf- 


DABNEY  CARK  HARRISON.  41 

fered  irreparble  losses;  it  is  right  to  weep 
over  them.  We  are  deeply  sinful ;  it  is 
right  to  mourn  for  that.  But  the  question 
of  our  hope  involves  the  faithfulness  of  God, 
and  the  truth  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
has  promised  that  we  shall  "never  perish," 
"neither  shall  any  pluck  "  us  "out  of  His 
hand." 

"I  never  feel  anything  now  that  I  can 
call  merriment,  or  gaeity  of  spirit.  The 
vision  of  those  fresh  graves  is  too  clear;  the 
wounds  of  those  teriible  blows  are  too  deep; 
and  all  my  loved  ones  are  too  far  away ;  and 
the  time  is  altogether  too  dark  and  trou- 
blous. 

"But  on  the  other  hand  I  am  rarely,  and 
never  long,  cast  down.  How  can  I  be,  with 
God's  promises  so  bright,  and  His  word  so 
true,  and  His  mercies  so  rich  and  free,  when 
I  think  of  the  joy  of  our  loved  ones  on  high 
When  I  think  of  the  good  that  may  come  to 
unborn  generations  by  our  present  priva 
tions  ?  Let  us  trust,  and  pray,  and  hope  to 
the  end.  The  glory  that  awaits  us  out- 
weighs all  the  troubles  that  surround  us." 

Thus  from  his  own  bleeding  heart  was  a 
balm  distilled  for  the  wounds  of  others; 
and  thus  was  that  sweet  Scripture  fulfilled, 
"The  God  of  all  comfort  comforteth  us  in 
all  our  tribulation,  that  we  may  be  able  to 
B   2 


42  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

comfort  them  which  are  in  any  trouble,  by 
the  comfort  wherewith  we  ourselves  are  com- 
forted of  God." 

His  own  "  consolation,"  meanwhile, 
"  abounded  by  Christ,"  and  his  hope  was 
brightening  with  light  from  the  open  gates 
of  the  City.  "  I  have  much  personal  enjoy- 
ment of  religion,  he  writes.  -"  I  feel  driven 
near  to  God,  and  I  love  to  commune  with 
Him.  I  cannot  imagine  now  people,  who  do 
not  love  and  serve  Him,  keep  up  heart  in 
times  of  separation  and  sorrow  like  thsse.  I 
feel  more  thankful  and  amazed  at  His  won- 
drous love,  every  time  I  think  of  it.  We 
know  not  what  is  before  us ;  but  we  do  know 
that  we  have  a  gracious  Father,  and  a  bless- 
ed Mercy-seat." 

On  Monday  night,  February  10th,  six  days 
before  his  death,  he  thus  closes  a  long  letter 
from  the  camp  before  Fort  Donelson  :  "  Oh, 
how  all  these  adveutures,  with  their  perils 
and  deliverances,  their  privations  and  bless- 
ings, do  drive  us  to  our  God  !  I  want  no 
other  strength  than  the  Lord  Jehovah  ;  no 
other  Redeemer  than  our  blessed  Saviour ; 
no  other  Comforter  than  His  Holy  Spirit.  I 
believe  that  when  we  do  our  duty,  the  Lord 
will  fight  for  us.  I  feel  a  constant,  bright 
and  cheering  trust  in  Him.  I  think  of  my 
precious   wife  and   little  ones,  and  long  for 


DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON.  43 

tlieir  society  and  caresses,  but  I  am  satisfied 
that  it  is  right  that  I  should  be  here,  and  I 

await  the  development  of  His  will 

"I  think  His  mercy  in  making  us  His  child- 
ren in  spite  of  all  our  ill-desert,  ought  to 
make  us  willing  meekly  to  bear  all  that  He 
chooses  to  lay  upon  us." 

When  this  lofty  yet  tender  confession  of 
his  faith  had  been  put  on  record,  he  wrote 
two  playful  letters  to  be  read  to  his  little 
daughter  and  son,  and  laid  down  the  pen, 
from  which  we  had  hoped  that,  for  many 
years  to  come,  gracious  streams  should  flow 
to  "make  glad  the  City  of  God."  It  was, 
indeed,  taken  up  once  more  for  a  moment ; 
but  the  hand  that  held  it  was  growing  cold, 
and  it  was  laid  aside  forever. 

Mightily  as  many  earthly  loves  drew  upon 
his  soul,  his  Lord's  love  was  more  than  all. 
He  had  "prepared  a  place"  for  him  "in  his 
Father's  House,"  and  now  He  desired  his 
coming.  Beyond  the  river,  and  before  the 
throne,  His  voice  was  heard  saying,  "Father, 
I  will  that  they  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me, 
be  with  Me,  where  I  am,  that  they  may  be- 
hold My  glory."  And  then  from  Mount 
Zion,  which  is  above,  came  words  which  once 
sounded  in  thunder  from  Mount  Sinai;  but 
now  they  came  softly,  and  were  unheard  by 
any  mortal  ear.     They  were  words  of  dis- 


44  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

charge  and  blessing,  breathed  in  music  that 
night  over  the  pillow  of  the  sleeping  soldier: 
"Six  days  shalt  thou  labor  and  do  all  thy 
work  ;  but  the  seventh  is  the  Sabbath  of  the 
Lord  thy  God." 

Six  days  for  earth  and  labor;  only  six. — 
Then  his  eternal  Sabbath  would  begin ;  rest 
and  worship  and  joy  forever  ! 

It  was  my  sad  privilege  very  lately  to 
spend  some  hours  with  the  little  remnant  of 
his  cherished  company,  and  read  them  part 
of  this  narrative.  Their  love,  admiration 
and  grief  for  their  lost  Captain  seemed  to 
have  no  measure.  Now  they  wept  like  child- 
ren, now  their  faces  beamed  with  enthusiasm, 
and  now  they  broke  in  upon  my  story  with 
hearty  confirmations  and  additions.  They 
gave  me  minute  accounts  of  these  last  days, 
but  I  shall  not  detain  my  reader  w/ith  many 
details.  It  was  'a  week  of  exposure,  peril, 
exhausting  toils  and  almost  unbroken  sleep- 
lessness. Tbe  battle  of  Fort  Donelson  be- 
gan on  Wednesday.  That  night  was  spent 
in  throwing  up  breastworks.  His  men  say 
that  no  man  in  the  company  worked  harder, 
or  did  more  in  this  heavy  labor  than  "  the 
Captain."  Thursday  night  was  cold  and 
stormy.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents  on  the 
weary  watchers  in  the  trenches,  and,  soon 
changing  into  sleet,  their  clothes  froze  upon 


DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON.  45 

them.  By  Friday  evening,  Captain  Harri- 
son's frame,  never  robust,  gave  way  for  a 
time,  and  lie  was  compelled  to  retire  to  the 
Hospital,  where  he  lay  quite  sick  all  that 
night.  Yet  on  Saturday  morning,  a  great 
while  before  day,  and  against  the  remon- 
strances of  his  friends,  he  rose  and  returned 
to  his  command. 

The  officer,  who  commanded  the  Fifty- 
Sixth  llegiment  at  this  time,  gave  me  sev- 
eral instances  of  such  zeal  and  daring  on 
the  part  of  Captain  Harrison,  that  I  cannot 
refrain  from  applying  to  him  what  Claren- 
don says  of  "that  incomparable  young  man, 
Lord  Falkland,"  in  his  touching  account  of 
his  death  :  "  He  had  a  courage  of  the  most 
clear  and  keen  temper,  and  so  far  from  fear, 
that  he  seemed  not  without  some  appetite  of 
danger." 

"You  ought  to  be  braver  than  the  rest  of 
us,"  said  some  of  his  brother  officers  to  him 
one  day,  after  witnessing  some  exhibition  of 
his  serene  fearlessness  in  danger. 

"Why  so?"  said  he  pleasantly. 

"  Because,"  said  they,  "you  have  every- 
thing settled  for  eternity.  You  have  noth- 
ing to  fear  after  death." 

"Well,  gentlemen,"  said  he  solemnly,  af- 
ter a  moment's  pause,  "you  are  right. — 
Everything  is  settled,  I  trust,  for  eternity, 


46  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

and  I  have  nothing  to  fear." 

It  was  his  invariable  custom  to  gather  his 
men  every  morning  and  evening  for  "family 
prayers."  A  letter  in  one  of  our  daily  pa- 
pers contains  a  notice  of  one  of  these  ser- 
vices. It  was  on  Thursday  morning,  just  af- 
ter the  night  of  heavy  toil  in  throwing  up 
breastworks.  Before  it  was  light  enough  to 
read,  Captain  Harrison  called  on  his  men  to 
rest  a  while,  and  join  him  in  worshipping 
Grod.  They  came,  and  a  large  portion  of 
the  regiment  with  them,  crowding  closely 
around  him.  He  then  repeated,  says  this 
writer,  with  thrilling  effect,  the  twenty- 
seventh  Psalm,  and  led  them  in  prayer  with 
great  fervor  and  power.  He  speaks  of  the 
whole  scene  as  most  impressive. 

How  could  it  be  otherwise?  These  men 
were  soon  to  face  the  terrors  of  death  ;  some 
of  them  were  to  taste  its  bitterness ;  and  now 
they  stood  with  their  Pastor  and  Captain  in 
this  grand  temple  of  the  open  heavens,  that 
he  might  first  present  them  before  God,  and 
commend  them  to  His  grace. 

As  the  full  moon,  which  had  shone  upon 
their  labor  all  night,  was  sinking  in  the  west, 
and  the  "light"  of  that  "morning  without 
clouds"  appeared  faintly  above  the  eastern 
hills,  this  sublime  strain  of  the  ancient 
Hebrew  warrior  and  poet  fell  on  their  ears, 


DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON.  47 

"  The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my  salvation  ; 
whom  shall  I  fear?  The  Lord  is  the  strength 
of  my  life;  of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid?" 

As  the  columns  of  the  enemy's  force, 
horse  and  foot,  were  seen  coming  onward  in 
the  distance,  this  outburst  of  courage  and 
faith  stirred  their  souls  like  the  sound  of  a 
clarion;  "Though  an  host  should  encamp 
against  me,  my  heart  shall  not  fear  !  Though 
war  should  rise  against  me,  in  this  will  I  be 
confident !" 

As  he  uttered  the  words,  w  When  Thou 
saidst,  Seek  ye  My  face;  my  heart  said  unto 
Thee,  Thy  face,  Lord,  will  I  seek,"  who  can 
describe  the  satisfaction  they  must  have  felt, 
who  remembered  that  with  all  the  heart  they 
had  thus  responded  to  God's  gracious  invi- 
tation ? 

At  the  words,  "When  my  father  and  my 
mother  forsake  me,"  if  some  grew  faint  with 
thoughts  of  home  far  distant,  and  loving 
parents  who  could  not  be  near  in  the  hour 
of  sorest  need,  did  they  not  revive  agnin  as 
they  heard  the  promise,  "then  the  Lord  will 
take  me  up?" 

And  how  inspiring  to  men  about  to  do  bat- 
tle in  the  righteous  cause,  the  exhortation 
which  closes  the  Psalm  :  "  Wait  on  the  Lord  ! 
Be  of  good  courage,  and  He  shall  strengthen 
thine  heart!  Wait,  I  say,  on  the  Lord  !" 


48  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

Saturday  was  his  fifth  and  great  day  of 
"work,"  work  of  war,  work  of  suffering. — 
For  *  now  he  was  ready  to  be  offered,  and 
the  time  of  his  departure  was  at  hand." — 
This  gentle  u  Barnabas,  son  of  consolation," 
was  to  show  that  he  was  also,  like  the  be- 
loved Disciple  whom  he  so  much  resembled, 
" Boanerges,  son  of  thunder."  As  the  sun 
rose  on  tha  morning  of  that  bloody  day,  it 
saw  him  enter  the  thick  of  the  battle,  and 
wrestle  valiantly  with  the  foe.  With  daunt- 
less heart  he  cheered  on  his  men.  They 
eagerly  followed  wherever  he  led.  Their 
testimony  is,  that  he  never  said,  "  Go  on," 
but  always,  "Come  on,"  while  ever  before 
them  flashed  his  waiving  sword,  At  length 
with  fear  and  pain  they  saw  his  firm  step 
faltering,  his  erect  form  wavering.  He  fell, 
and  the  fierce  tide  of  battle  swept  on.  It  was 
impossible  for  his  most  devoted  men  to  pause. 
And  they  best  did  his  will  by  passing  over 
his  prostrate  body,  throwing  themselves  on 
the  foe,  and  leaving  him  to  die.  "He  had 
warred  a  good  warfare,  ever  holding  faith 
and  a  good  conscience." 

With  reverence  I  have  taken  in  my  hand 
the  hat  he  wore  in  the  battle  ;  with  tears  and 
a  swelling  heart  I  have  gazed  on  it.  It  is 
pierced  by  four  balls.  Three  whistled  through 
and  did  him  no   harm.     The  fourth,  partly 


DABNEY  CARR  HARRISOS".  49 

spent,  marred  that  beautiful  brow.  But  this 
was  as  nothing.  He  calmly  fought  on.  A 
more  deadly  aim  drove  a  ball  through  his 
right  lung.  Just  when,  cannot  be  told.  His 
face  was  to  the  foe,  and  his  step  onward,  even 
when  from  loss  of  blood  and  exhaustion,  he 
sank  upon  the  frozen  earth. 

There,  with  his  head  resting  on  a  log,  he 
lay  unattended  for  an  hour  "and  a  half,  suf- 
fering from  his  wounds,  but  more  from  the 
chill  air  and  his  bed  of  snow.  When  at 
length  his  men  were  ordered  to  cease  their 
fire,  they  hastened  to  his  side.  They  found 
him  almost  numb  with  the  cold.  Yet  he  met 
them  pleasantly,  and  told  them  not  to  mind 
him,  that  he  must  die  whatever  was  done, 
and  that  he  would  rather  they  would  take 
care  of  themselves/  "We  could  not  have 
left  him  then,"  said  one  of  his  faithful  men 
with  a  burst  of  honest  enthusiasm,  "if  all 
the  regiments  of  the  enemy  had  been  after 
us!"  They  made  a  litter,  and  six  of  them 
bore  him  to  Dover,  a  little  village  hard  by 
the  battle-field. 

Here  they  placed  Kim  by  a  good  fire,  rubb- 
ed his  cold  limbs,  and  put  hot  bricks  to  his 
feet.  As  soon  as  he  was  warm,  he  said, — 
"Now  I  am  perfectly  comfortable;"  and 
from  this  time,  though  his  consciousness  was 
perfect,  and  every  faculty  bright,  he  had 
B  3 


50  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON, 

neither  pain  nor  uneasiness.  He  had  done 
With  suffering  forever.  Neither  had  he  the 
least  desire  for  food,  though  he  had  fasted 
since  the  evening  before.  Nor  did  he  even 
sleep  again,  except  for  a  few  minutes  shortly 
before  his  death,  although  he  had  yet  some 
thirty-six  hours  to  live.  An  occasional 
draught  of  cold  water  supplied  all  his  need. 

He  conversed  cheerfully  and  without  wea- 
riness  with  all  who  were  near  him,  even  to 
the  last. 

After  a  few  hours5  he  Was  put  on  a  steam- 
boat for  Nashville.  When  he  found  that 
two  of  his  men  were  to  go  with  him  and  wait 
upon  him,  he  remonstrated  for  a  while.  He 
was  unwilling  that  an  arm,  that  could  still 
strike  in  the  cause  for  which  he  had  poured 
out  his  life,  should  be  employed  in  minis- 
tering to  any  needs  of  his.  But  when  he 
saw  that  they  Would  not  leave  him,  he  gave 
expression  to  his  great  desire  to  sleep  on 
Virginia  soil;  or,  if  that  could  not  be,  he 
wished  to  be  laid  to  rest  as  near  to  it  as 
possible. 

While  bearing  their  precious  charge  to  the 
boat,  a  touching  incident  occurred.  I  shall 
give  it  in  the  words  of  Lieut.  Col.  Massie, 
who  commanded  the  51st  Regiment  of  Vir* 
ginia  Volunteers.  It  was  kindly  furnished 
me  by  one  of  his  faimily,  from  a  private  let- 


DABNEY  CARE  HARRISON.  51 

ter,  with  permission  to  use  his  name.  "Poor 
Dabney    Harrison    was  killed, — another  of 

that  patriotic  family I  believed  him 

to    be    the   most  thorough  gentleman  I  had 

ever   known After   the    battle,  and 

while  I  was  sitting  on  my  horse,  some  one 
said,  'Colonel,  the  Captain  says,  Good-bye  !* 
I  saw  a  litter  passing,  and  immediately  dis- 
mounted and  stopped  it,  and  you  may  better 
imagine  than  I  describe  my  feelings,  when  I 
found  poor  Harrison,  calm,  pale,  with  the 
same  sweet  smile,  lying  shot  through  the 
lungs.  He  said,  'It  is  all  right!  I  am  per- 
fectly willing  to  die.'  'It  is  true,'  said  he, 
'I  grieve  to  leave  my  wife  and  little  child- 
ren; but  they  need  not  fear;  God  will  take 
care  of  them.'  All  the  battle  has  not  made 
so  deep  an  impression  on  me  as  that  man's 
death.     I  cannot  account  for  my  tenderness 

of  feeling  for  him He  was  a  daring 

man,  keen  for  a  fight,  and  was  cheering  on 
his  men,  with  hat  in  hand,  at  the  time  he 
was  shot." 

Who  that  knew  him,  cannot  see  that  "same 
sweet  smile,"  and  hear  the  cheerful,  silver 
ring  of  his  quick  assurance,  "It  is  all  right!" 
Neither  the  frosts  of  winter  nor  the  frosts 
of  death  could  freeze  the  sunny  fountain  of 
that  smile;  and  however  bitter  the  cup  of 
pain   and   grief  put   into   his   hands  by  hi:-. 


52  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

heavenly  Father,  he  would  still  say  as  he 
drank,  "It  is  all  right!" 

Two  incidents  of  his  dying  hours  are  yet 
to  be  recorded.  Calling,  about  noon,  for 
one  of  his  manuscript  books,  he  took  a  pen- 
cil, and  with  a  trembling  hand  feebly  wrote 
these  words : 

"Feb.   16,  1862.— Sunday. 

"I  die  content  and  happy;  trusting  in  the 
merits  of  my  Saviour,  Jesus ;  committing  my 
wife  and  children  to  their  Father  and  mine. 
Dabney  Carr  Harrison." 

Precious  legacy  of  love  and  prayer !  Pre- 
cious testimony  of  faith  and  blessedness! 

A  little  while  before  he  died,  he  slept 
quietly  for  a  few  minutes.  In  dreams  his 
soul  wandered  back  to  yesterday's  conflict. 
He  was  again  in  the  battle.  The  company 
for  which  he  bad  toiled  and  prayed  and  suf- 
fered so  much  was  before  him,  and  he  was 
wounded, — dying  on  the  field.  But  even  in 
dreams  he  had  not  lost 

"th'  unconquerable  will, 
And  courage  never  to  submit  or  yield." 

Starting  out  of  sleep,  he  sat  once  more  erect, 
and  exclaimed,  "  Company  K,  you  have  no 
Captain  now ;  but  never  give  up  !  never  sur- 
render!" 

The   arms   of  his  faithful  attendant  re- 


DABNEY  GARR  HARRISON.  53 

ceived  him  as  he  rose,  and  now  supported 
him  tenderly  as  his  drooping  form  grew 
heavier.  With  his  head  pillowed  on  a  sol- 
dier's breast,  he  sank,  peacefully  as  a  babe, 
into  that  sleep  which  no  visions  of  strife 
shall  ever  disturb. 

Once  more  "the  same  sweet  smile."  shone 
forth,  now  lighting  up  that  chaste  and  mar- 
ble beauty  which  nothing  gives  but  death. 

His  work  was  done,  all  done,  well  done, 
and  now,  like  his  brother  seven  months  be- 
fore, like  his  sister  seven  days  after,  like  the 
little  one  to  whom  we  had  given  his  name, 
he  died,  as  he  was  born,  on  the  Sabbath. — 
Thus  was  his  life  bounded  on  either  hand  by 
the  Day  of  God.  Care  and  conflict  came  be- 
tween, but  a  Sabbath  blessing  was  on  it  all, 
and  then  he  entered  on  the  higher  "Sabbath 
of  the  Lord  his  God,"  "eternal  in  the  hea- 
vens." 

His  last  breath  was  for  his  country ;  for 
the  young  Confederacy,  whose  liberty,  honor 
and  righteousness  were  inexpressibly  dear  to 
him;  for  which  he  wept  and  made  supplica- 
tion in  secret ;  for  which  he  was  content  to 
"endure  hardness  as  a  good  soldier;  for 
which  he  cheerfully  died." 

His  dying  words  beautifully  connect  them- 
selves with  those  of  his  brother  on  the  plains 
of  Manassas.. 


54  DABNEY  CARR  HARRISON. 

When  the  Second  Virginia  Regiment,fight- 
ing  on  our  left  at  Manassas,  was  broken  by  a 
sudden  and  destructive  flank  fire  of  the  en- 
emy, and  by  its  Colonel's  unfortunate  com- 
mand, Lieut.  Peyton  Harrison  and  a  few 
officers  of  like  spirit  rallied  a  portion  of  the 
men,  and  led  them  in  a  periloiis,  but  splen- 
did and  victorious  charge.  In  the  midst  of 
it,  however,  he  fell,  shot  like  his  brother,  in 
the  breast.  Two  of  his  men  bore  him  from 
the  field.  His  face  was  radiant  with  heav- 
enly peace.  He  spent  a  few  moments  in  dic- 
tating messages  of  love,  and  in  prayer  for 
himself,  his  family,  and  his  country.  "What 
more  can  we  do  for  you?"  asked  the  affec- 
tionate young  men  who  supported  him. — 
"  Lay  me  down,"  was  his  answer,  "  I  am 
ready  to  die;  you  can  do  no  more  for  me: 
rally  to  the  charge  !" 

"Kally  to  the  charge!"  cries  the  voice 
from  Manassas.  "  Never  give  up !  never 
surrender!"  answers  the  voice  from  Fort 
Donelson. 

Nobly  has  the  land  responded  to  the  first 
cry.  By  hundreds  of  thousands  have  they 
"  rallied"  to  their  country's  standard.  May 
they  equally  heed  the  second  cry !  May 
they  "  never  give  up  "  the  sacred  struggle  ! 
May  they  "never  surrender"  their  liberty 
or  their  land,  the  homes  of  the  living  and 


DABNBT  CARR  IIARRISON.  55 

the  graves  of  the  dead!  The  blood  of  our 
fallen  patriots  consecrates  the  cause  and  the 
soil.  To  yield  would  be  treason  to  the 
dead. 

It  is  hard  to  think  of  that  gentle  breast 
pierced  with  deadly  balls.  It  is  hard  to  bury 
him  in  darkness :  to  look  no  more  upon  that 
slender  form,  that  fair  open  brow,  shaded  by 
rich  clusters  of  brown  hair,  prematurely 
touched  with  silver,  that  serene  but  radiant 
blue  eye,  that  firm  sweet  mouth,  that  win- 
ning smile;  but  "even  so,  Father,  for  so  it 
seemed  good  in  Thy  sight !"  We  bow  to  Thy 
sovereign  will,  and  reverently  lay  Thy  faith- 
ful servant  in  the  dust. 

It  is  pleasant  to  think  that,  while  he  sleeps 
in  his  lonely  grave,  far  from  kindred  and 
friends,  he  lies  wrapped  in  the  martial  cloak 
his  sainted  brother  wore.  One  in  heart,  one 
in  aim,  they  were  one  in  glorious  martyr- 
dom. "  And  devout  men  made  great  lamen- 
tation over  them." 


